ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the literature on foams and their use in the textile industry. It presents the science dealing with the structure and stability of foams, methods of preparing foams, and their use in the dyeing, printing, mercerizing, and finishing of fabrics. The substitution of foams for water in the dyeing, printing, mercerizing, and finishing of textiles can result in considerable savings in the amount of water used in textile operations and in the energy required to evaporate water from treated fabrics. The properties of the treated fabrics were equal to those of conventional padded fabrics and energy savings resulted from lower wet pickups. In a column of foam, drainage by gravity causes the lamellae in the upper region of the column to be thinner and those in the lower region to be thicker. Bubbles of gas introduced into a liquid rupture on contact with one another or escape from the liquid.
